Psalms 51
51
PSALM 51
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone into Bathsheba.
1After thy loving-kindness, Lord,
have mercy upon me:
For thy compassions great, blot out
all mine iniquity.
2Me cleanse from sin, and throughly wash
from mine iniquity:
3For my transgressions I confess;
my sin I ever see.
4'Gainst thee, thee only, have I sinn'd,
in thy sight done this ill;
That when thou speak'st thou may'st be just,
and clear in judging still.
5Behold, I in iniquity
was form'd the womb within;
My mother also me conceiv'd
in guiltiness and sin.
6Behold, thou in the inward parts
with truth delighted art;
And wisdom thou shalt make me know
within the hidden part.
7Do thou with hyssop sprinkle me,
I shall be cleansed so;
Yea, wash thou me, and then I shall
be whiter than the snow.
8Of gladness and of joyfulness
make me to hear the voice;
That so these very bones which thou
hast broken may rejoice.
9All mine iniquities blot out,
thy face hide from my sin.
10Create a clean heart, Lord, renew
a right sp'rit me within.
11Cast me not from thy sight, nor take
thy Holy Sp'rit away.
12Restore me thy salvation's joy;
with thy free Sp'rit me stay.
13Then will I teach thy ways unto
those that transgressors be;
And those that sinners are shall then
be turned unto thee.
14O God, of my salvation God,
me from blood-guiltiness
Set free; then shall my tongue aloud
sing of thy righteousness.
15My closed lips, O Lord, by thee
let them be opened;
Then shall thy praises by my mouth
abroad be published.
16For thou desir'st not sacrifice,
else would I give it thee;
Nor wilt thou with burnt-offering
at all delighted be.
17A broken spirit is to God
a pleasing sacrifice:
A broken and a contrite heart,
Lord, thou wilt not despise.
18Shew kindness, and do good, O Lord,
to Sion, thine own hill:
The walls of thy Jerusalem
build up of thy good will.
19Then righteous off 'rings shall thee please,
and off 'rings burnt, which they
With whole burnt-off 'rings,
and with calves, shall on thine altar lay.
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Psalms 51: MP1650
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 51
51
Psalm 51
David wrote this psalm for the music leader.
It was when the prophet Nathan came to him, after David had sex with Bathsheba.
Please forgive me, Lord #51:1 David wrote this psalm after he had done something very bad. Then God's prophet Nathan came to David and he warned David. In the end, David was very sorry for the bad things that he had done. He asked God to forgive him. See 2 Samuel 11—12.
1Please forgive me, God,
because of your faithful love.
Because you are so kind,
please clean away my sins.
2I have done bad things,
so wash me to make me clean again. #51:2 David knows that sin makes him guilty in front of God. It is like he is dirty, so he wants God to wash away the bad things. Then he will be clean.
3I know that I have not obeyed you.
I cannot forget that I am guilty.
4It is you that I have done bad things against,
only you! #51:4 The most important thing is that David did not obey God's laws. He did do bad things that also hurt other people, like Uriah. But David realizes that, more than anything else, it is God that he has turned against.
I have done things that are evil,
as you know.
And so you are fair when you speak against me.
You are right when you say that I am guilty.
5Yes, even from the day I was born
I have done bad things.
I have always been guilty of sin.
6But you want me to be completely good and honest.
You want to teach me to be wise
in the way that I live.
7 Splash water over me with a hyssop plant,
and I will be really clean. #51:7 See Exodus 12:22; Leviticus 14:4-6,49-52; Numbers 19:6-18. Hyssop was a plant that the Israelites used to splash blood or water on things as a sign that God would make them pure.
Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. #51:7 Whiter than snow means ‘very pure and clean.’
8Please forgive me so that I can be happy.
Then my whole body will feel well again.
9Hide your face from my sins.
Clean away all the bad things that I have done. #51:9 Hide your face means ‘look away from me’.
10God, please make my heart new and clean.
And make my spirit strong and true,
deep inside me.
11Do not send me away from you.
Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me.
12Give me joy again,
because you have made me safe.
Make me strong and ready to obey you.
13Then I will teach your ways
to people who have turned against you.
Then sinners will turn back
and they will obey you.
14God, I am guilty of murder.
Please forgive me!
You are the one who saves me.
When you rescue me,
I will sing aloud about your righteousness.
15My Lord, help me to speak,
and then I will praise you.
16I would be happy to offer sacrifices to you,
but that is not what you really want.
You do not want a burnt offering from me.
17You want me to be humble and sorry.
That is the sacrifice that you want.
When people are humble
and they turn away from their sins,
you will not refuse them.
18God, please be kind and help Zion.
Make the walls of Jerusalem strong again.
19Then you will accept our proper sacrifices.
Our burnt offerings and sacrifices of whole animals
will make you happy.
Once again, people will offer bulls to you,
on your altar. #51:19 When people were humble and they were sorry for their sins, then God would accept their sacrifices.
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